Sweet Addiction (26 page)

The driver spins around
to face us. “Ladies. Oh, and gentleman, sorry. Where the hell am I going?”

“I’m closest. Dylan’s
Sweet Tooth on Fayette please.” I fall back against Joey. “Oh man, this was so
fun. Juls, seriously, thanks for this.”

She winks at me as we
pull away from the club. “
So
fun. I love you three. AND I’M GETTING
MARRIED TOMORROW!”  We all laugh and cheer as we drive off down the road,
the petty arguments of the night left behind along with Brooke’s vomit that
came shortly after we started out onto the dance floor. I called it though. The
girl should really not be around hard liquor.

I’m dropped off a mere
fifteen minutes later and say my quick goodbyes before I stumble inside and
lock up behind me. After peeling out of my dress and removing my makeup, I open
my dresser drawer and spot the University of Chicago T-shirt that I had stuffed
into my duffle bag when I was packing up my stuff the day I ended things with
Reese. I should have sent it back to him through Ian when I realized that I
took it, but a part of me, a part of me that nobody knows about, likes wearing
it to bed some nights when I want to smell him. I don’t wear it often for fear
that my scent will overpower his. But I do decide on wearing it tonight. I slip
it on and climb into bed, grabbing my phone and opening up my internet search.

While on the dance
floor tonight, the Arctic Monkeys song pumped through the speakers and I let
myself dance to it, not wanting to give away how badly it killed me to hear it.
And as I moved my body to it, I remembered that I never looked up the lyrics
and it’s been on my mind the entire evening. So now in the privacy of my dark
bedroom, I’m finally looking up the lyrics to the song that reminded him of me.

“OhGod.” I read the
lyrics again, and again, letting them sink into me and cursing myself for even
looking them up in the first place and for the stupid club for playing this
stupid song. “Fuck.” I shut down my phone and roll over, burying my head into
the pillow to soften the cries that are coming from me now.
Jesus, that
song? Really? It’s a song about wanting to be with someone so badly, thinking
about them all the time, wanting more with them. Dreaming about them. That
song? How could that song remind me of him?
I bury my face into his T-shirt
and cry harder, trying to push the lyrics out of my head to give myself some
relief. I inhale his scent, the scent that is slowly fading and I finally calm
myself down enough to fall asleep. And sleep I am definitely going to need if
I’m going to survive the next forty-eight hours.

I wake up a little
after 11:00a.m. on Friday and prepare myself for the day ahead. I decide to go
on a run by myself today, only wanting my own thoughts to occupy my head and
not Joey’s relentless rantings. After my five miles, I lock up shop and head
upstairs to shower and get dressed to finish Juls and Ian’s wedding cake. The
shop is closed and will be until Monday since we’ve had her wedding to prepare
for and I’m grateful for the quiet. I slip on my apron and whip up the cream
cheese icing that she requested, admiring the sugared dahlias that I already
created to cascade down the cake. I curse myself for thinking of Reese at the
sight of them and whip faster.
Damn it. What guy pays attention to details
like that? I’d put money on Ian not giving two shits about the flowers that
took me hours to create.

After icing the cake
and cleaning up my mess, I glance at the time on the oven. Its 3:30p.m. and I
need to be at the church in an hour and definitely need another shower. I untie
my apron and throw it on the worktop before I dart up the stairs. I’ve picked a
black sleeveless dress and pumps to wear tonight, pinning half of my hair up
and leaving the rest in loose waves down my back. My makeup looks elegant but
not too done up and I smile weakly into the mirror as I gaze at my reflection.
My dress is hanging off my body more than it used to and I know that’s because
I haven’t been eating much. Besides my daily taste tests, I’m having to choke
down my meals that Joey has been bringing me, or at least parts of my meals.
But at least I
am
eating. After one last look, I grab my clutch and head
towards the night I’ve been dreading.

St. Stephen’s church
was Ian’s pick, as was the reception and mostly every other detail for that
matter. I park along the side of the beautiful building and straighten my dress
out as I make my way to the front steps. Stopping at the bottom and glancing up
at the double doors, my nerves hit me in one hard rush and I want to turn right
around and get back into the comfort of Sam, but I can’t. I close my eyes and
grip the hand rail. “Come on, Dylan.” I pick up my feet and move up the stairs,
clearing my throat before I open one of the doors.

The church is
beautiful, with dark wood furnishings and stained glass windows allowing the sunlight
to shine through in all different colors. Even if you aren’t religious, try
stepping into a catholic church and not feeling the presence of something way
the hell bigger than you. I glance up at the massive cathedral ceiling and
admire the painted murals when I hear Juls screeching my name.

“There you are. Now if
Brooke would just hurry the hell up we can get started.” She’s at my side
instantly and looks beautiful. Dressed in a deep plum dress and her hair pulled
up sleekly, she’s practically glowing. She leans in and hugs me as my eyes
glance up towards the bodies at the front of the church. But of course, I
didn’t need to look to know that he is here already. I felt him the moment I
stepped inside this stupid building. My eyes find his instantly as he stands
with Ian and the other men. His lips part slightly and I watch his chest rise
with a deep intake of breath. Before I can rake my eyes down his body, I pull
back from Juls and break the contact.

“You look beautiful and
ready to be married.”

“Thanks. You don’t look
so bad yourself. Come on, my parents have been asking when you’d get here.” She
grabs my hand and pulls me up front as I keep my eyes fixed on anyone but his.
Luckily, we stop a few pews short of the men where all the parents are congregating.

“Dylan, there you are.
Wow you look stunning, dear. How’s the bakery business going?” Mrs. Wicks wraps
me up in a hug. She was always like a second mother to me.

“It’s great and thank you.
You look amazing yourself. And how are you doing, Mr. Wicks? Ready to give your
oldest daughter away?”

He pulls me into his
arms and I’m immediately hit with the smell of cigars. “Fat chance. She’ll
never get rid of her old man. It’s good to see you, Dylan.”

“You too.” At that
moment, the front doors swing open and Brooke comes barreling through, looking
like she just woke up and most likely feeling a lot worse. I hear Juls gasp
behind me. “Excuse me,” I say politely before I begin quickly making my way
down the aisle towards a very stupid looking bridesmaid.

“Dylan. Remember that
guy last night?” I grab her wrist and pull her behind a pillar as she tries to
get out of my grasp. “Jeez. What’s the big deal?”

“What the fuck? Are you
still drunk?” I ask as Joey comes rushing up to us with Juls on his heels. I
notice quickly that all talking has stopped at the front of the church and can
feel a million pairs of eyes on us.

“No I’m not drunk. I’m
just hung-over. Ooohhh which one is Reese?” I grip her harder and she yelps.

“Oh for Christ’s sake.
Way to keep it classy, Brooke,” Joey whispers harshly as the preacher walks
over towards us. We all straighten up a few inches.

“Are we ready to begin,
Miss. Wicks?” He asks and she smiles quickly and nods, glancing back at me with
her panicky eyes.

“We’re ready,” I
confirm, keeping my hand on Brooke’s arm as we all follow the preacher towards
the front. I glare over at her and she cowers beside me as we walk up to the
front. “Pull your shit together. And if you act like this tomorrow, I will
personally make sure you don’t get laid. I will vagina block the shit out of
you.” Her mouth drops open and I hear Joey laugh behind us.

“What? You better stay
the hell away from my vagina,” she grunts and my grip tightens.

“Ha! I bet you’ve never
uttered
those
words before, Brooke.” Joey laughs.

We stop as the preacher
turns and faces everyone and I quickly glance up and over to my right, finding
Reese’s eyes on me and quickly dropping my stare back down. I let go of Brooke
and she sighs in relief, massaging her reddened arm. 

“Okay everyone, we’re
going to do a quick run through of the ceremony, just to make sure everyone
knows their places. So, if I can have the groomsmen, best man, and the groom
all standing to my left right here,” he motions down at the stairs below him.
“And ladies, and gentleman, if you would line up at the front doors and we’ll
get started.”
Oh good. I’ll only have to walk with Reese at the end of the
ceremony down the aisle. That’s not too bad. What is it? Twenty-five, thirty
feet of contact? I can handle that.
We quickly form a line at the back of
the room as I stand in front of Juls, Joey in front of me, and Brooke hopefully
leading the way. God help her if she can’t make it up to the altar.

“You ready for this?”
Joey leans back and whispers.

“Yup. You?”

“Oh please, have you
seen my baby up there? Gorgeous.” I giggle at his response and hear the
preacher announce for Brooke to start walking, which she does after Joey gives
her a right shove. “Asshole. She’s going to be such a pain tomorrow,” he says
before he begins walking and I can’t help but smile. My assistant as a
bridesmaid. Of course.

“I love you,” Juls says
behind me and I feel my eyes water a bit.

“Love you,” I say as I
begin making my walk up the aisle. I don’t want to, I really don’t want to but
my eyes find his immediately and I finally get my first real look at him in
eighty-four days. He’s wearing a black suit, perfectly tailored to that body
with a green striped tie and white dress shirt. His hair looks like it’s been
cut a bit but still has its perfectly tousled look to it and his eyes are
piercing into mine, the green beaming out of them thanks to his tie color
choice. I see them quickly drop and run down my dress before he flicks back up to
meet mine, jaw set and tense. I take my spot on the same step as him and
finally look away towards Juls who is with her father at the back of the
church. She begins her walk up and I keep my eyes on her even though I can feel
him looking at me. Studying me.

The preacher runs
through the ceremony, going over the vows that Ian and Juls’ picked out for
tomorrow. I smile and laugh as they recite them and keep turning around to make
sure Brooke is still upright and awake. Joey gives me a reassuring wink with each
turn and I know he’s got her covered.
Thank God.
After the mock
exchanging of the rings and pronouncement of their marriage, the two of them
begin filing down the aisle and I quickly clamp my eyes shut, knowing what’s
coming next.
Shit. He’s going to touch me. He’s going to touch me and I’m
going to lose it.

“Ok, now Dylan and
Reese, you may walk down together. Billy and Joey, you can follow when they are
about halfway down the rows.” I open my eyes and step forward after the
preacher finishes and see Reese already waiting for me, elbow out so that I can
easily slip my hand through it. I swallow loudly and grip the inside of his
elbow as we begin walking silently down the aisle. I can hear his breathing,
slow and steady as if he’s unaffected by this entirely.
Figures
.
I
wasn’t sure what I was expecting here. The sight of me causing him to faint
possibly?
But no, not even uneven nervous breathing.

“You look beautiful,”
he says, low and throaty and I gasp slightly but don’t respond. We reach the
end of the aisle and I quickly drop my hand from his arm and move to stand next
to Juls and as far away from him as possible.
Shit. Don’t be affected by
that, Dylan.
After the rest of the wedding party comes down the aisle, we
all say our momentary goodbyes as we file out towards our vehicles. I quickly
walk to Sam and scramble in, wanting to avoid any alone time with Reese as I
see him walking out with Ian and the other men. His eyes fall on my delivery
van fleetingly before he hops in his Range Rover and pulls away from the
church. I drop my head on the wheel. “Okay. Half of the night is over. Now, you
just need to get through the dinner and you’ll only have to worry about
tomorrow.” After my little pep talk, I start up Sam and make my way towards
Casa Mia’s.

The rehearsal dinner is
booked at a quaint Italian restaurant and a long rectangular table has been set
aside for us in the very back. My place is next to Juls and three seats down
from Reese who is sitting next to Ian. I’m immensely grateful that he isn’t
seated on the opposite side because I’ve done enough looking for one evening.
Joey plops down next to me and let’s out an exhaustive sigh.

“Problems with our
favorite bridesmaid?” I ask, noticing that she hasn’t graced us with her
presence at the table yet. I pick up my water and take a few sips.

“I’m going to kill her.
She insisted on riding with me and then tried to feel me up in the car.” Water
shoots out of my mouth and covers the thankfully empty place setting across
from me as I quickly bring a napkin up to my face.

“Jesus, Dylan. Are you
all right?” Juls asks as I continue coughing. I glance over at her and see that
everyone is staring at me, and I mean everyone as I quickly shake off my choke
fest.

I turn quickly towards
Joey. “Are you serious?”

“Do I
look
serious? I feel like I’ve been molested. She almost made me cause an accident
on highway eleven.”

My coughing turns into
giggling as I lean my head onto his shoulder and we both crack up at the
situation. “Oh my God. That’s amazing. I so needed to hear that right now.” I
laugh out as he shakes his head at me, picking up his water.

“What’s going on?” Juls
asks softly as our dinner is brought out to us. I’m suddenly starving and the
dish that’s in front of me is about to be destroyed.

I eye her up mischievously.
“Your lovely sister has been putting the moves on JoJo.” Her fork drops.

“What? Oh great. That’s
just great.” On cue, Brooke appears and quickly claims her seat next to Joey
who stiffens next to me. Juls leans across and snaps her fingers at her sister.
“You’re an asshole.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry Joey.
That was a bit embarrassing. Although, was it just me or did something move?”
She giggles and orders something alcoholic from the waiter that Joey quickly
cancels for her.

“Did something move?
Are you fucking insane? And no booze for you. I can only imagine what would
happen if you started drinking.”

I shake my head and
take a bite of my chicken picatta, moaning around my fork as a familiar face
moves towards our table and stands across from me.

“Hey, Dylan. How’s it
going?” Juls’ cousin Tony eyes me up and I quickly smile and wave at him from
my seat. We’ve known each other for years and go way back, but never anything
more than friendship.

“Hey, Tony. How are
you?”

“I’m great. Get your
sweet ass out of that chair and come give me a hug.” I laugh and scramble out
of my seat, walking down the side of the table that does not contain my
ex-fling and get quickly lifted into the air. “You look good, girl,” he says
into my hair as he gives me his usual bear hug.

“Thanks. Jesus, put me
down already.” He sets me on my feet and I shake my head at him, straightening
out his tie. “So, what’s new in the world of computer programming?” My eyes
quickly flick towards Reese who is staring at me with daggers.
Oh please. Like
you have any right anymore.

“Nailed it. Nice
memory. It’s good. How about you? Juls told me something about your bakery
getting broken into or some shit a few months back? That’s fucked up.”